Topically treated tissue product

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a low-cost, in-line process for treating a fibrous web with a lotion. The process generally involves passing a web through a nip formed by a pair of opposed surfaces, where one of the surfaces has been treated with a lotion having a penetration hardness greater than 5.0 mm. As the web passes through the nip, the lotion is transferred from one of the opposed surfaces to the surface of the web. In certain instances, the web may have a textured surface and only a portion of the web&#39;s textured surface is treated with a lotion.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent tissue products such as facial tissue and bath tissue havebeen used to absorb body fluids and leave the skin dry. Absorbenttissue, in addition to absorbing fluids, however, also abrade the skinduring use and frequently do not leave the skin completely dry and freeof the body fluid the tissue is trying to absorb. During frequentnose-blowing or perianal wiping, the skin can become so abraded as toappear red and be sore to the touch. To reduce skin abrasion, tissueadditive formulations can be applied to the tissue such that, in use,the additive formulation either provides lubricity causing the tissue toglide across the surface of the skin or leaves the tissue and isdeposited on the skin. To date, these formulations have been liquids orlipid (lipophilic materials) based semi-solids or lipid-based solids atroom temperature. The liquid or lipid-based semi-solid type offormulations require a high amount of formulation added to the tissue todeliver the benefit of reduced skin irritation and redness because theseformulations absorb into a tissue, leaving less on the surface toprovide the benefit. The lipid based solid formulations can be heated(slightly above the melting point of the formulation) and applied to thesurface of a tissue or towel thereafter re-solidifying the formulationon the surface(s) of the tissue where the formulation is readilyavailable for transfer to the user's skin to protect the skin from orprevent further irritation and redness in an efficient cost-effectivemanner.

While the foregoing formulations have been successfully employed in themanufacture of tissue products, they leave much to be desired. Forexample, their application often requires complex and expensive off-lineprocesses such as rotogravure printing, flexographic printing orspraying. These methods are not only complex and expensive, theygenerally treat more of the tissue surface than is necessary to achievethe desired user benefit. Accordingly, there remains a need in the artfor a low cost, in-line process for selectively treating a tissueproduct with a lotion.

SUMMARY

A low-cost, in-line process for treating a fibrous web with a lotion hasnow been discovered. The inventive process is particularly useful intreating fibrous webs, particularly textured tissue webs, with a lotion.In certain instances, the method may be used to selectively disposelotion on only a portion of the structure's surface. For example, incertain embodiments, the present invention provides a process forselectively treating the surface of a textured fibrous structure, suchas a textured structure having a first side with first and secondsurfaces lying in different surface planes, by passing the structurethrough a nip formed by a rotating roll having lotion disposed thereon.As the structure passes through the nip a portion of the lotion istransferred from the roll to the upper most surface of the structure. Inthis manner, only a portion of the structure's first side is treatedwith a lotion.

Accordingly, in one embodiment the present invention provides a methodof applying a solid lotion to a fibrous web comprising the steps ofproviding solid lotion compositions having a penetration hardnessgreater than about 5.0 mm, such as from about 5.0 to about 30 mm,measured pursuant to the Hardness Method set forth below, and applyingthe lotion to a transfer surface to form a film on the transfer surface.Next, at least one outwardly-facing surface of a fibrous web iscontacted with the transfer surface resulting in a transfer of thelotion to the surface of the fibrous web. In certain instances, theamount of lotion transfer to the web may be less than about 3.0 gramsper square meter (gsm) of fibrous web and more preferably less thanabout 2.0 gsm and still more preferably less than about 1.0 gsm, such asfrom about 0.10 to about 3.0 gsm, such as from about 0.5 to about 2.0gsm.

In other embodiments the present invention provides a method forapplying a lotion on a textured fibrous structure after the texturedfibrous structure has been formed and substantially dried. The methodcomprises providing a nip between a rotating roll having a substantiallysmooth surface and an opposed surface, applying a lotion to the rotatingroll and conveying a textured tissue web through the nip. As thetextured web passes through the nip the lotion is transferred from therotating roll to the textured tissue web.

In another embodiments the invention provides a method of manufacturinga treated tissue web where a lotion is topically applied to the webwithout a significant reduction in the overall surface topography of thestructure. Accordingly, the present method may be used as a means oftopically applying a lotion to a structure while maintaining the textureof the structure. For example, the methods of the present invention maybe useful in producing a textured tissue web comprising a plurality ofridges having upper surfaces lying in a first surface plane and aplurality of valleys lying in a second surface plane and a lotionselectively disposed on the upper surfaces of the plurality of ridges.

In yet another embodiment the present invention provides a calendercoated tissue product comprising at least one calendered tissue webhaving an upper surface and a lotion disposed on the upper surface.Preferably the lotion is present on the upper surface in an amount lessthan about 3.0 grams per square meter (gsm) of fibrous web and morepreferably less than about 2.0 gsm and still more preferably less thanabout 1.0 gsm, such as from about 0.10 to about 3.0 gsm, such as fromabout 0.5 to about 2.0 gsm.

In still other embodiments the present invention provides a treatedfibrous structure having a first side comprising first and secondsurfaces lying in first and second surface planes where there is az-directional height difference between the first and the second surfaceplanes. The first side further comprises a lotion selectively disposedon the first surface. Preferably the second surface is substantiallyfree from the lotion. Preferably the lotion composition is appliedindirectly to the fibrous structure and is a solid having a penetrationhardness greater than about 5 mm, such as from about 5.0 to about 30 mm,more particularly from about 10 to about 25 mm, and still moreparticularly from about 12 to about 20 mm. As referred to herein, thepenetration hardness of a lotion is measured pursuant to the HardnessMethod set forth below.

In still other embodiments the present invention provides a through-airdried tissue product comprising at least one through-air dried tissueweb having a textured first side having a first surface lying in a firstsurface plane and a second surface lying in a second surface plane,wherein the first surface comprises from about 70 to about 95 percent ofthe surface area of the first side of the web and comprises a lotionselectively disposed thereon.

In yet other embodiments the present invention provides a treated tissueproduct comprising a lotion selectively applied to only a portion of theproduct surface at relatively low add-on levels. The lotion may beselectively applied such than 100 percent or less of the surface area ofthe product is treated, such as from about 70 to about 90 percent andmore preferably from about 10 to about 20 percent. Further, the add-onof lotion (on a solids basis) relative to the dry fiber weight of theproduct can be less than about 3.0 grams per square meter (gsm) of web,such as less than about 2.0 gsm, such as less than about 1.0 gsm.

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a fibrous structure according to one embodimentof the present invention with FIG. 1A representing a cross-sectionalview of the structure through line 1A-1A;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fibrous structure according to anotherembodiment of the present invention with FIG. 2A representing across-sectional view of the structure through line 2A-2A;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lotion treated fibrous structureaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure through line 4-4;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of an apparatus useful in forming the fibrousstructures of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an apparatus useful in forming thefibrous structures of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is an image of a tissue product prepared as described in theexample.

Definitions

As used herein the term “fibrous structure” refers to a structurecomprising a plurality of elongated particulate having a length todiameter ratio greater than about 10 such as, for example, papermakingfibers and more particularly pulp fibers, including both wood andnon-wood pulp fibers, and synthetic staple fibers. A non-limitingexample of a fibrous structure is a tissue web comprising pulp fibers.

As used herein the term “basesheet” refers to a fibrous structureprovided in sheet form that has been formed by any one of thepapermaking processes described herein but has not been subjected tofurther processing to convert the sheet into a finished product, such assubtractive texturing, embossing, calendering, perforating, plying,folding, or rolling into individual rolled products.

As used herein the term “tissue web” refers to a fibrous structureprovided in sheet form and being suitable for forming a tissue product.

As used herein the term “tissue product” refers to products made fromtissue webs and includes, bath tissues, facial tissues, paper towels,industrial wipers, foodservice wipers, napkins, medical pads, and othersimilar products. Tissue products may comprise one, two, three or moreplies.

As used herein the term “ply” refers to a discrete tissue web used toform a tissue product. Individual plies may be arranged in juxtapositionto each other.

As used herein the term “layer” refers to a plurality of strata offibers, chemical treatments, or the like, within a ply.

As used herein, the term “papermaking fabric” means any woven fabricused for making a tissue sheet, either by a wet-laid process or anair-laid process. Specific papermaking fabrics within the scope of thisinvention include wet-laid through-air drying fabrics and air-laidforming fabrics.

As used herein, the term “textured” generally refers thethree-dimensional topography of a first or a second side of a fibrousstructure. Generally, a textured structure will have a first side withfirst and second surfaces lying in first and second surface planes wherethere is some non-zero z-direction height difference between the firstand second surface planes. For example, in one-embodiment, a texturedtissue web may comprise a plurality of elevated elements having an uppersurface lying in a first surface plane separated from one another byland areas lying in a second surface plane.

As used herein, the term “surface plane” generally refers to the planeformed by the upper most surface of an element disposed on one side of afibrous structure. A surface plane may be determined by well-knownimaging techniques such as, for example, using a VHX-1000 DigitalMicroscope (manufactured by Keyence Corporation of Osaka, Japan)equipped with VHX-H3M application software or other suitable imageanalysis software.

As used herein, the term “design element” means a decorative figure,icon or shape such as a line element, a flower, heart, puppy, logo,trademark, word(s) and the like. A design element may comprise a portionof the fibrous structure surface that lies out of plane with the land orbackground areas.

As used herein the term “line element” refers to an element, such as adesign element, in the shape of a line, which may be continuous,discrete, interrupted, and/or a partial line with respect to a fibrousstructure on which it is present. The line element may be of anysuitable shape such as straight, bent, kinked, curled, curvilinear,serpentine, sinusoidal, and mixtures thereof, that may form regular orirregular periodic or non-periodic lattice work or structures whereinthe line element exhibits a length along its path of at least 10 mm. Inone example, the line element may comprise a plurality of discreteelements, such as dots and/or dashes for example, that are orientedtogether to form a line element.

As used herein the term “continuous element” refers to an element, suchas a design element, disposed on a fibrous structure that extendswithout interruption throughout one dimension of the fibrous structure.

As used herein the term “discrete element” refers to an element, such asa design element, disposed on a fibrous structure that does not extendcontinuously in any dimension of the fibrous structure.

As used herein the term “basis weight” generally refers to the bone-dryweight per unit area of a tissue and is generally expressed as grams persquare meter (gsm). Basis weight is measured using TAPPI test methodT-220. While basis weight may be varied, tissue products preparedaccording to the present invention generally have a basis weight greaterthan about 10 gsm, such as from about 10 to about 80 gsm and morepreferably from about 30 to about 60 gsm.

As used herein the term “caliper” is the representative thickness of asingle sheet (caliper of tissue products comprising two or more plies isthe thickness of a single sheet of tissue product comprising all plies)measured in accordance with TAPPI test method T402 using an EMVECO 200-AMicrogage automated micrometer (EMVECO, Inc., Newberg, Oreg.). Themicrometer has an anvil diameter of 2.22 inches (56.4 mm) and an anvilpressure of 132 grams per square inch (per 6.45 square centimeters) (2.0kPa). The caliper of a tissue product may vary depending on a variety ofmanufacturing processes and the number of plies in the product, however,tissue products prepared according to the present invention generallyhave a caliper greater than about 100 μm, more preferably greater thanabout 200 μm and still more preferably greater than about 300 μm, suchas from about 100 to about 1,500 μm and more preferably from about 300to about 1,200 μm.

As used herein the term “sheet bulk” refers to the quotient of thecaliper (generally having units of μm) divided by the bone-dry basisweight (generally having units of gsm). The resulting sheet bulk isexpressed in cubic centimeters per gram (cc/g). While sheet bulk mayvary depending on any one of a number of factors, tissue productsprepared according to the present invention may have a sheet bulkgreater than about 5 cc/g, more preferably greater than about 8 cc/g andstill more preferably greater than about 10 cc/g, such as from about 5to about 20 cc/g.

As used herein, the terms “geometric mean tensile” and “GMT” refer tothe square root of the product of the machine direction tensile strengthand the cross-machine direction tensile strength of the tissue product.While the GMT may vary, tissue products prepared according to thepresent invention may have a GMT greater than about 500 g/3″, morepreferably greater than about 700 g/3″ and still more preferably greaterthan about 1,000 g/3″.

DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a variety of novel lotion treated fibrousstructures and methods of producing the same. For example, the presentinvention provides tissue products, particularly products havingthree-dimensional surface topography, where a lotion is selectivelyapplied to only a portion of the tissue surface. In other instances, thetissue products may be treated with two different lotions such as afirst lotion disposed in a first cross-machine direction zone and asecond lotion disposed in a second cross-machine direction zone.Preferably the first and second lotions differ in at least one regard,such as the first lotion being hydrophilic and the second lotion beinghydrophobic.

While any fibrous structure may be treated with a lotion according tothe present invention, in certain instances it may be preferable totreat a fibrous structure having a three-dimensional topography withportions of the structure upper surface lying in first and secondsurface planes. In certain preferred embodiments the first surface planelies above the second surface plane and forms the upper most structuresurface and is selectively treated with lotion. The second surface,which lies below the first surface, is generally free from lotion. Inthis manner, the surface of the structure may be selectively treatedwith lotion such that the surface first brought into contact with theuser's skin in-use is selectively treated with lotion. In this manner,the amount of lotion added to the tissue may be reduced withoutnegatively affecting user's perception of softness and comfort. Further,by reducing the amount of lotion and selectively applying it to only aportion of the structure, other important properties such as absorbency,strength and bulk may be preserved.

In certain embodiments the textured surface may comprise a first sidehaving peaks or ridges lying in a first surface plane and valleys lyingin a second surface plane below the first surface plane. In otherembodiments the first side may comprise a first surface plane and adesign element lying in a second surface plane below the first surfaceplane where the design element provides the fibrous structure with avisually discernable design which users may find aesthetically pleasing.Regardless of the shape and arrangement of elements the structures ofthe present invention generally have a first side having at least twodifferent surface planes where the upper most surface is preferentiallytreated with a lotion.

Textured fibrous structures useful in the present invention may becreated using any number of well-known techniques, such as wet moldingor embossing. In certain preferred embodiments, texture is imparted tothe fibrous structure during the manufacturing process such as by wettexturing, molding using a drying fabric or by embossing. Generally, thetexture is not the result of printing.

Accordingly, in one embodiment, the fibrous structure is a wet-laidtissue web having a textured surface formed during the manufacturingprocess by molding the web using an endless belt having a correspondingtextured surface. For example, the wet-laid tissue web may bemanufactured using an endless belt which comprises a continuousthree-dimensional element (also referred to herein as a continuous lineelement) and a reinforcing structure (also referred to herein as acarrier structure or fabric). The reinforcing structure comprises a pairof opposed major surfaces—a web contacting surface from which thecontinuous line elements extend and a machine contacting surface.Machinery employed in a typical papermaking operation is well known inthe art and may include, for example, vacuum pickup shoes, rollers, anddrying cylinders. In one embodiment the belt comprises a through-airdrying fabric useful for transporting an embryonic tissue web acrossdrying cylinders during the tissue manufacturing process. In suchembodiments the web contacting surface supports the embryonic tissueweb, while the opposite surface, the machine contacting surface,contacts the through-air dryer.

In certain embodiments a plurality of continuous line elements may bedisposed on the web-contacting surface for cooperating with, andstructuring of, the wet fibrous web during manufacturing. In aparticularly preferred embodiment the web contacting surface comprises aplurality of spaced apart three-dimensional elements distributed acrossthe web-contacting surface of the carrier structure and togetherconstituting from at least about 15 percent of the web-contactingsurface, such as from about 15 to about 35 percent, more preferably fromabout 18 to about 30 percent, and still more preferably from about 20 toabout 25 percent of the web-contacting surface.

Now with reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A, one embodiment of a fibrousstructure 10 prepared according to the present invention is illustrated.The fibrous structure 10 has two principle dimensions— a machinedirection (“MD”), which is the direction substantially parallel to theprincipal direction of travel of the tissue web during manufacture and across-machine direction (“CD”), which is generally orthogonal to themachine direction. The fibrous structure generally has a textured firstside 12 comprising a plurality of continuous elevated line elements 16,also referred to herein as ridges, and a plurality of valleys 18, alsoreferred to herein as land areas, there-between.

The line elements 16 lie in a first surface plane 13 and the valleys liein a second surface plane 15 and together form the surface of the firstside 12. Opposite the first side 12 is the second side 14, lying in abottom surface plane 17. While the instant fibrous structure isillustrated as having alternating ridges and valleys which define boththe first and second sides and provide both with a textured surface, theinvention is not so limited. For example, in an alternative embodimentthe fibrous structure may comprise only one textured side. Moreover,while the illustrated line elements 16 and valleys 18 are bothcontinuous the invention is not so limited, as will be discussed infurther detail below.

With continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 1A the fibrous structure 10comprises a lotion 20 selectively deposited on the ridges 16. In thismanner the lotion 20 lies in the first surface plane 13 and isregistered with the upper-most surface of the fibrous structure 10 suchthat it is the first surface to contact a user's skin in-use.

Turning now to FIGS. 2 and 2A, another embodiment of a fibrous structure10 prepared according to the present invention is illustrated. Thefibrous structure 10 comprises a plurality of discrete design elements26 that form a portion of the first side 12 of the structure 10. Thedesign elements 26 have an upper surface lying in a first surface plane23. The design elements 26 are separated from one another by land areas28, which have an upper surface lying in a second surface plane 25. Thefirst surface plane 23 lies above the second surface plane 25 andtogether the discrete design elements 26 and the land areas 28 form thefirst side 12 of the structure. Opposite the first side 12 is a secondside 14 that forms the bottom of the structure 10 and lies in a bottomsurface plane 27.

A lotion 20 is selectively disposed on, in registration with, thediscrete design elements 26. As such, the lotion 20 is selectivelydisposed on the upper most surface of the structure 10, while the landareas 28 are substantially free from lotion.

With reference now to FIG. 3 , another embodiment of a fibrous structure10 according to the present invention is provided. The first side 12comprises continuous line elements 16, which are similarly sized andhave generally straight, parallel spaced apart sidewalls that providethe continuous elements 16 with a width, and a height. The width and theheight may be varied depending on the desired physical properties of thefibrous structure, such as sheet bulk and cross-machine directionstretch. In certain embodiments the height of the sidewalls is such thatthe resulting tissue structure has a caliper greater than about 300 μm,such as from about 300 to about 1,200 μm. The height is generallymeasured as the distance between the first surface plane 13 and thebottom surface plane 17.

The spacing and arrangement of the continuous line elements may varydepending on the desired tissue product properties and appearance. Inone embodiment a plurality of line elements extend continuouslythroughout one dimension of the fibrous structure and each element inthe plurality is spaced apart from the adjacent element. Thus, theelements may be spaced apart across the entire cross-machine directionof the fibrous structure or may run diagonally relative to the machineand cross-machine directions. Of course, the directions of the lineelements alignments (machine direction, cross-machine direction, ordiagonal) discussed above refer to the principal alignment of theelements. Within each alignment, the elements may have segments alignedat other directions, but aggregate to yield the particular alignment ofthe entire elements.

In addition to varying the spacing and arrangement of the elements, theshape of the element may also be varied. For example, in one embodiment,the elements are substantially sinusoidal and are arranged substantiallyparallel to one another such that none of the elements intersectone-another. As such the adjacent sidewalls of individual elements areequally spaced apart from one another. In such embodiments, the spacingof elements may be from about 1.0 to about 20 mm, and more preferablyfrom about 2.0 to about 5.0 mm apart. The foregoing spacing may beoptimized to maximum caliper of the fibrous structure, or provide afibrous structure having a three-dimensional surface topography, yetrelatively uniform density. Further, while in certain embodiments theelements are continuous the invention is not so limited. In otherembodiments the elements may be discrete.

Further, while the elements are illustrated as having a squarehorizontal and lateral (relative to the upper surface plane)cross-sectional shape the invention is not so limited, and the elementsmay have any number of different horizontal and lateral cross-sectionalshapes. A particularly preferred element is a line element havingsubstantially planar sidewalls which are generally perpendicular to theupper surface plane. Further, while the uppermost surface of the element16 is illustrated as being planar and defining a first surface plane 13,the invention is not so limited. For example, the element's uppersurface may be non-planar, such as having further depressions in theform of lines or dots disposed thereon. Where the element's uppersurface is non-planar the design element plane is generally defined by aline drawn tangent to the upper most point of the design element andparallel to the x-axis of the fibrous structure.

The individual elements, also referred to herein as design elements, maybe arranged in any number of different manners to create a decorativepattern. In one particular embodiment design elements are spaced andarranged in a non-random pattern so as to create a wave-like design.Landing areas may be interspaced between adjacent individual designelements so as to provide a visually distinctive interruption to thedecorative pattern formed by the individual spaced apart designelements. In this manner, despite being discrete elements, the designelements are spaced apart so as to form a visually distinctivecurvilinear decorative element that extends substantially in the machinedirection. In this manner, taken as a whole, the discrete elements mayform a decorative pattern, such as a wave-like pattern.

In other embodiments the design elements may be spaced and arranged soas to form a decorative figure, icon or shape such as a flower, heart,puppy, logo, trademark, word(s) and the like. Generally, the designelements are spaced about the fibrous structure and can be equallyspaced or may be varied such that the density and the spacing distancemay be varied amongst the design elements. For example, the density ofthe design elements can be varied to provide a relatively large orrelatively small number of design elements on the web. In a particularlypreferred embodiment the design element density, measured as thepercentage of one surface of the fibrous structure covered by a designelement, is from about 5 to about 35 percent and more preferably fromabout 10 to about 30 percent. Similarly, the spacing of the designelements can also be varied, for example, the design elements can bearranged in spaced apart rows. In addition, the distance between spacedapart rows and/or between the design elements within a single row canalso be varied.

Fibrous structures having textured surfaces which may be imparted with adesign element of the present invention may be formed using any one ofseveral well-known manufacturing processes. For example, in certainembodiments, fibrous structures may be produced by a through-air drying(TAD) manufacturing process, an advanced tissue molding system (ATMOS)manufacturing process, a structured tissue technology (STT)manufacturing process, or belt creped. In particularly preferredembodiments the fibrous structure is manufactured by a crepedthrough-air dried (CTAD) process or uncreped through-air dried (UCTAD)process.

In one embodiment, tissue webs useful in the present invention areformed by the UCTAD process of: (a) depositing an aqueous suspension ofpapermaking fibers (furnish) onto an endless forming fabric to form awet web; (b) dewatering or drying the web; (c) transferring the web to atransfer fabric; (d) transferring the web to a TAD fabric of the presentinvention having a pattern thereon; (e) deflecting the web wherein theweb is macroscopically rearranged to substantially conform the web tothe textured background pattern of the TAD fabric; and (f) through-airdrying the web. In the foregoing process the web is not subject tocreping but may be further processed as described below to impart adesign pattern to the web.

After the basesheet is formed and dried it may be subjected to variousconverting process before final packaging. Prior to, or during thisconverting process, in accordance with the present invention, thebasesheet is subjected to treatment with a lotion, which is preferablyprovided in solid form and transferred to a first surface of thebasesheet by a transfer surface and more preferably a heated transfersurface.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, the transfer surface is acalender roll. In this manner a calendering-coating process may be usedto selectively deposit a lotion on the surface of the web. Thiscalendering-coating process may compress the web as it applies lotion tothe upper most surface, effectively breaking some bonds formed betweenthe fibers of the basesheet while selectively applying a lotion to itssurface. The perceived softness of the basesheet is increased withoutsignificantly sacrificing tensile strength or any other characteristicthereof.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , one embodiment of a roll-gap apparatus usefulfor calendering-coating a fibrous structure according to the presentinvention is illustrated. In general, roll-gap calendering involves twocalendering rolls 101 and 102 that compress the web 100, which may betextured in certain preferred embodiments. The surfaces 103, 104 ofcalendering rolls 101, 102 contacting the web 100 may comprise a varietyof materials including, for example, metal such as steel or cast iron,or a polymeric material such as polyurethane, natural rubber (hard orsoft), synthetic rubber, an elastomeric material, and the like.Furthermore, the roll surfaces can be smooth, roughened, or etched. Inone embodiment, a first calendering roll 101 has a surface 104comprising a polymer material and the second calendering roll 102 has asmooth metal surface 103.

The calendering-coating of the fibrous structure is achieved throughcompression of the fibrous structure in a nip 105 between the first andsecond calendering rolls 101 and 102. The two calendering rolls 101 and102 are arranged to provide nip load, commonly having units of poundsper linear inch (pli) ranging from about 20 to about 120 pli, such asfrom about 40 to about 100 pli. While the embodiment illustrated in FIG.5 relies upon a constant gap between the calendering rolls 101 and 102,the invention is not so limited, and the invention may be implementedusing a calendering apparatus where the surfaces of the two rolls can bepressed together to form a pressure between the surfaces that compressesthe base web at a higher pressure than the gap. However, depending onthe load settings and the z-direction properties of the fibrousstructure, it is possible to run the nipped mode at the same or evenless pressure than the gap mode.

Both calendering rolls 101, 102 rotate so their respective surfaces 103,104 move in the same direction as the web 100. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 5 , the first calendering roll 101 is rotatingcounter-clockwise and the second calendering roll 102 is rotatingclockwise. In certain instances, the fibrous structure moves from anunwind roll through a roll-gap calendering apparatus and is rewound ontoa roll.

In a particularly preferred embodiment at least one of the calenderrolls, particularly the roll to which the lotion is applied, is a rollhaving a metal surface and more preferably a heated steel roll with asubstantially smooth surface. For example, with continued reference toFIG. 5 , the lotion 108, which is provided in a solid state and has apenetration hardness greater than about 5.0 mm, such as from about 5.0to about 30 mm (measured pursuant to the Hardness Method set forthbelow) is urged against the surface 103 of a second calendering roll102, which preferably has a metal surface and is heated. The secondcalender roll may be heated such that its surface temperature is atleast about 70° C., such as from about 70 to about 100° C. and morepreferably from about 70 to about 90° C. The degree to which the secondcalender roll is heated may depend on the composition of the lotion andthe desired lotion add-on.

With reference now to FIG. 6 , the calendering-coating apparatus may beprovided with an applicator 200 for retaining a solid lotion 108, havinga thickness (t), and urging the lotion against the surface 103 of acalender roll 102. In certain non-limiting instances, the lotionthickness (t) may range from about 1 to about 5 cm. Further, asdiscussed in more detail below, the lotion thickness (t) may be variedalong with one or more process variables to control the amount of lotionadded to the web. As the lotion 108 is urged against the calendersurface 103 a coating of lotion 110 is applied. The lotion 110 may thenbe transferred to the surface of a web 100 as it passes through the nip105.

The speed of the web 100 as it passes through the nip 105 may be variedto control the amount of lotion added to the web. In certainnon-limiting instances, the web speed may range from about 15 to about300 meters per minute, such as from about 50 to about 250 meters perminute.

The applicator 200 may comprise a holder 202 and an automatic indexingmechanism 204 for automatically advancing the solid lotion 108 towardsthe roll surface 103. The automatic indexing mechanism may include apressure sensor for measuring and monitoring the pressure applied to thesolid lotion as it is urged against the calender roll surface and ameans for advancing the solid lotion towards the roll surface. In otherembodiments the lotion applicator may comprise a holder and a mechanicalmeans, such as a spring, to maintain the desired pressure against thesolid lotion and urge it against the roll surface.

In certain preferred embodiments the automatic indexing mechanism 204may advance the solid lotion 108 towards the roll surface 103 at apredetermined feed rate (FR) to achieve the desired add-on. For example,the feed rate may be varied from about 0.05 to about 0.2 mm per secondto achieve an add-on from about 0.5 to about 6.0 grams per square meter(gsm) of web. In certain instances the desired add-on (having units ofgrams per square meter of web) may be achieved by controlling thethickness of the solid lotion (having units of mm or the like), thelotion feed rate (FR, having units of mm per second or the like), thepenetration hardness of the lotion (measured as described herein andhaving units of mm) and the speed of the web (having units of meters perminute or the like) as it passes through the nip. For example, thedesired lotion add-on may be related to lotion thickness, feed rate,penetration hardness and web speed by Equation 1, below.

$\begin{matrix}{{{Lotion}{Add}{On}} \propto \frac{{Thickness} \times {Feed}{Rate} \times {Penetration}{Hardness}}{{Web}{Speed}}} & {{Equation}(1)}\end{matrix}$

For carrying out the calendering-coating process the solid lotion 108 isurged against the second calender roll 102 and a portion of the lotionis transferred to the roll surface 103. The lotion coated roll surface110 is then brought into contact with the first side 122 of the web 100in the calender nip 105. Within the nip, the lotion is transferred fromthe roll surface to the upper most surface of the first side 122 of thetextured fibrous structure. After leaving the calender nip, the rollsurface may be substantially free from lotion however, in certaininstances it is possible that a lotion residue remains on the surface.Lotion residue on the leading rotating sector of the second calenderroll 102 may be stripped from the outer surface thereof with the help ofa doctor blade (shown in FIG. 6 ) or other stripping device.

After leaving the calender nip, the textured fibrous structure has beentreated with the lotion, with the lotion oriented on the first side 122and more particularly on the upper most surface of the first side 122.The lotion treated fibrous structure may be subjected to furtherprocessing, such as drying, to ensure that the lotion treatment retainsits size, shape, configuration, or registration on the first side 122 ofthe structure as it was applied. It will be recognized by those skilledin the art that the particular configuration of the calender rolls 102,104 and applicator 200 as shown in FIG. 6 is merely exemplary, and otherconfigurations and set up of the apparatus may be used.

The total add-on amount of the lotion to the fibrous structure may beless than about 3.0 grams per square meter (gsm) of fibrous web and morepreferably less than about 2.0 gsm and still more preferably less thanabout 1.0 gsm, such as from about 0.10 to about 3.0 gsm. In otherinstances, the lotion add-on may be expressed in terms as a percentageof the weight of the fibrous structure and may be less than about 5.0percent, by weight of the web, such as from about 1 0.0 to about 5.0percent and more preferably from about 2.0 to about 3.0 percent. Thelotion add-on amount will depend upon the desired effect of thecomposition on the product attributes and the specific composition ofthe lotion.

Preferably the lotion is a solid at room temperature and is meltedduring the application process after which it re-solidifies to form adistribution, preferably a uniform distribution, of solid deposits onthe upper most surface of a textured fibrous structure. Because thecomposition is a solid at room temperature and rapidly solidifies afterdeposition, it has less tendency to penetrate and migrate into thesheet. Compared to fibrous structures treated with liquid formulations,this leaves a greater percentage of the additive composition on thesurface of the tissue where it can contact and transfer to the user'sskin to provide enhanced skin health benefits. Furthermore, a loweradd-on amount can be used to deliver the same benefit at a lower costbecause of the efficient placement of the composition substantially atthe surface of the product.

Solid lotions useful in the present invention may be provided with arange of different product forms. One of these is a so-called “stick”which is usually a bar of an apparently firm solid material held withinan applicator and which retains its structural integrity and shape whilebeing urged against a calender roll. When a portion of the stick isdrawn across the surface of a calender roll a film of the stickcomposition is transferred to the roll surface. Although the stick hasthe appearance of a solid article capable of retaining its own shape fora period of time, the material usually has a structured liquid phase sothat a film of the composition is readily transferred from the stick toroll surface upon contact.

Lotion compositions useful in the present invention may be provided assolids that are characterized by their retaining their shape withoutlateral support under the influence of the Earth's gravity, attemperatures up to at least 50° C. The hardness of the solid lotions canbe measured in a needle penetration test. Pursuant to this test, as thesolid lotions become softer, their needle penetration hardness valuesincrease, with higher hardness values being indicative of a softerlotion composition. In one embodiment it is desirable that the lotioncompositions have a penetration hardness greater than about 5.0 mm, suchas from about 5.0 to about 30 mm, more particularly from about 7.0 toabout 25 mm, more particularly from about 12 to about 22 mm, and stillmore particularly from about 16 to about 22 mm measured pursuant to theHardness Method set forth below. Hardness values within these ranges areindicative of self-supporting solid lotions having a somewhat soft feelbut are well suited for indirect application to a tissue web via aconventional calendering apparatus.

In particularly preferred embodiments lotions useful in the presentinvention are formulated as hydrophobic compositions. The hydrophobiclotions of the present invention preferably do not comprise added water,which could require an additional drying step. However, minor or tracequantities of water in the lotion that are picked as a result of, forexample, ambient humidity can be tolerated without adverse effect.Typically, hydrophobic lotions useful in the present invention areprovided as a solid stick having a penetration hardness ranging fromabout 5.0 to about 30 mm and contain about 3 percent or less water,preferably about 1 percent or less water, most preferably about 0.5percent or less water.

In certain instances, the solid lotion composition may be hydrophobicand comprise one or more oils. The amount of oil in the composition canbe from about 30 to about 90 weight percent, more specifically fromabout 40 to about 70 weight percent, and still more specifically fromabout 45 to about 60 weight percent. Suitable oils include, but are notlimited to, the following classes of oils: petroleum or mineral oils,such as mineral oil and petrolatum; or animal oils, such as mink oil andlanolin oil.

Particularly preferred oils are mineral oils such as petroleumderivatives comprising a mixture of paraffinic and naphthenic (cyclic)hydrocarbons. These include both “light” and “heavy” mineral oils, whichare differentiated on the basis of the average molecular weight of thehydrocarbons included. The mineral oils useful herein have the followingproperties: viscosity of from about 5 centistokes to about 70centistokes at 40° C.; density between about 0.82 and about 0.89 g/cm³at 25° C.; flash point between about 138° C. and about 216° C.; andcarbon chain length between about 14 and about 40 carbons.

In other instances, lotions useful in the present invention may comprisea wax. The amount of wax in the composition can be from about 10 toabout 40 weight percent, more specifically from about 10 to about 30weight percent, and still more specifically from about 15 to about 25weight percent. Suitable waxes include, but are not limited to, thefollowing classes: natural waxes, such as beeswax and carnauba wax;petroleum waxes, such as paraffin and ceresine wax; silicone waxes, suchas alkyl methyl siloxanes; or synthetic waxes, such as synthetic beeswaxand synthetic sperm wax.

In still other instances, lotions useful in the present invention maycomprise one or more fatty alcohol, which may be present in amountsranging from about 5 to about 40 weight percent, and more specificallyfrom about 10 to about 30 weight percent. Suitable fatty alcoholsinclude alcohols having a carbon chain length of C₁₄-C₃₀, includingacetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, and dodecyl alcohol.

In particularly preferred embodiments lotions useful in the presentinvention may be provided as a solid stick having a penetration hardnessranging from about 5.0 to about 30 mm and comprising from about 30 toabout 90 weight percent oil, and from about 10 to about 40 weightpercent wax, preferably also containing from about 5 to about 40 weightpercent fatty alcohol.

In other embodiments lotions useful in the present invention may beprovided as a solid stick having a penetration hardness ranging fromabout 5.0 to about 30 mm and comprising from about 20 to about 50 weightpercent mineral oil and from about 10 to about 30 weight percent ceresinwax having a melting point from 64 to 67° C. and from about 10 to about30 weight percent fatty alcohol selected from the group consisting ofcetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol, and dodecyl alcohol.

In order to better enhance the benefits to a user, additionalingredients may optionally be included in a lotion useful in the presentinvention. Optional ingredients and their corresponding benefitsinclude, without limitation, C₁₀ or greater fatty alcohols (lubricity,body, opacity), fatty esters (lubricity, feel modification), vitamins(topical medicinal benefits), dimethicone (skin protection), powders(lubricity, oil absorption, skin protection), preservatives andantioxidants (product integrity), ethoxylated fatty alcohols(wetability, process aids), fragrance (consumer appeal), lanolinderivatives (skin moisturization), colorants, optical brighteners,sunscreens, alpha hydroxy acids, natural herbal extracts, and the like.In a particularly preferred embodiment, the lotion comprises one or moreoils selected from the group consisting of plant oils, such as aloeextract, sunflower oil and avocado oil, and silicone oils, such asdimethicone and alkyl methylsilicones.

While in certain instances lotions useful in the present invention maybe provided in hydrophobic forms, the invention is not so limited. Inother instances, the lotion may be hydrophilic and comprise water.Preferably hydrophilic lotions are provided as a solid stick having apenetration hardness ranging from about 5.0 to about 30 mm and comprisefrom 70 to 99.5 weight percent hydrophilic solvent. Suitable hydrophilicsolvents include, but are not limited to, the following materials:water, propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, methoxyisopropanol, PPG-2propyl ether, PPG-2 butyl ether, PPG-2 methyl ether, PPG-3 methyl ether,dipropylene glycol propyl ether, dipropylene glycol butyl ether,dipropylene glycol, methyl propanediol, propylene carbonate, watersoluble/dispersible polypropylene glycols, ethoxylated polypropyleneglycol, glycerin, sorbitol, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, andsilicone glycols.

Particularly preferred hydrophilic solvents are high molecular weightpolyethylene glycols. As used herein “high molecular weight polyethyleneglycols,” generally refer to polyethylene glycols having an averagemolecular weight of 400 or greater, such as 600 or greater, such as 700or greater. Particularly preferred are high molecular weightpolyethylene glycols that are not liquid at room temperature, such aspolyethylene glycols having an average molecular weight from about 700to about 10,000, such as from about 700 to about 5,000, such as fromabout 700 to about 3,500. The solid hydrophilic lotion may comprise from70 to 99.5 weight percent weight percent high molecular weightpolyethylene glycol and have a penetration hardness ranging from about5.0 to about 30 mm.

In other embodiments, the solid hydrophilic lotion may comprisepropylene glycol, glycerin and a fatty alcohol. For example, thehydrophilic lotion may comprise from about 30 to about 95 weight percentpropylene glycol, from about 30 to about 60 weight percent glycerin andfrom about 1 to about 10 weight percent of a fatty alcohol. Suitablefatty alcohols include, but are not limited to, alcohols having a carbonchain length of C₁₄-C₃₀, including cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol,arachidyl alcohol, and behenyl alcohol.

In certain instances, the hydrophilic lotion composition may comprisewater, such as from about 10 to about 25 weight percent, morespecifically from about 10 to about 20 weight percent, more specificallyfrom about 12 to about 18 weight percent.

The application method of the present invention not only enablesselective treatment of a structure's surface with a lotion, it alsoenables the application of two or more different lotions in a zonedmanner across the cross-machine direction of the product. For example,in certain embodiments, a first and a second lotion, which differ fromone another in at least one respect, may be disposed in a holder andurged against the surface of a calender roll and transferred to thesurface of a web passing through a nip as described herein. Theresulting treated web will have the first lotion disposed in a firstcross-machine direction zone and the second lotion disposed in a secondcross-machine direction zone. In other instances, a substantiallysimilar lotion may be applied to the first and second zones, but theamount of lotion applied to a given zone may differ.

In certain preferred embodiments the present invention provides atreated tissue product having a machine direction and a cross-machinedirection, a first side and an opposed second side, the tissue productcomprising a first discrete cross-machine direction zone having a firstlotion composition disposed thereon and a second discrete cross-machinedirection zone having a second lotion composition disposed thereon,wherein the first and the second lotion compositions differ in at leastone respect. In such embodiments, the term “discrete” generally refersto cross-machine direction zones that are separate and distinct from oneanother and do not overlap to any extent. In this manner, for example, atissue product may comprise a hydrophobic lotion disposed in a firstdiscrete cross-machine direction zone and a hydrophilic lotion disposedin a second discrete cross-machine direction zone. The first and secondzones may be disposed immediately adjacent to one another or they may bespaced apart from one another with a third cross-machine direction zonedisposed therebetween. In those instances where the first and secondzones are separated from one another by a third zone, the third zone maybe treated with a third lotion or may be untreated.

In those instances where the lotion treated tissue product comprisesfirst and second cross-machine direction zones, the first zone maydesirably have a cross-machine direction width dimension of from about0.5 to about 12 cm, such as about 0.5 to about 10 cm, more specificallyfrom about 1.0 to about 5.0 cm. The second zone may desirably have awidth dimension equal to, greater than, or less than the width of thefirst zone, such as about 0.2 to about 12 cm, more specifically fromabout 0.2 to about 10 cm, and still more specifically from about 1.0 toabout 5.0 cm. If present at all, a third zone, which is substantiallyfree from lotion, may separate the first and second zones and have awidth dimension of from about 0.02 to about 5 cm. It should beappreciated that there might be conditions such as cost, wiping task,and the like that would change the first, second and third zone sizerelationships. The length dimensions of the cross-machine directionzones may extend over the entire machine direction length of the tissueor only over part of the machine direction length of the tissue.

Tissue webs and products produced according to the present invention notonly comprise a lotion that may be readily available for transfer to theuser's skin to protect the skin from or prevent further irritation andredness, they may also have favorable physical properties, such assufficient strength to withstand use without being stiff or rough.Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention a tissue producthas a basis weight from about 10 to about 80 gsm, and more preferablyfrom about 15 to about 60 gsm and a sheet bulk greater than about 5.0cc/g, such as from about 5.0 to about 20 cc/g and more preferablygreater than about 10 cc/g, such as from about 10 to about 20 cc/g.

In addition to having the foregoing basis weights and sheet bulks,tissue webs and products prepared according to the present invention mayhave a geometric mean tensile (GMT) greater than about 500 g/3″, such asfrom about 500 to about 1,500 g/3″, and more preferably from about 600to about 1,000 g/3″. At these tensile strengths the tissue webs andproducts have relatively low geometric mean modulus, expressed as GMSlope, so as to not overly stiffen the tissue product. Accordingly, incertain embodiments, tissue webs and products may have GM Slope lessthan about 20 kg, and more preferably less than about 15 kg and stillmore preferably less than about 10 kg.

In one particularly preferred embodiment the present invention providesa lotion rolled bath tissue product having a basis weight from about 20to about 45 gsm, a GMT from about 500 to about 1,200 g/3″, a GM Slopeless than about 12 kg, such as from about 5.0 to about 12 kg, and a GMStretch greater than about 5 percent, such as from about 5 to about 15percent. The foregoing rolled bath tissue product preferably comprisesat least one textured tissue web having a first side with first andsecond surfaces lying in first and second surface planes. Thez-directional height difference between the first and second surfaceplanes may be from about 100 to about 300 μm and more preferably fromabout 150 to about 250 μm.

The inventive single ply tissue webs may be plied together with othersingle ply webs prepared according to the present disclosure or withsingle ply webs of the prior art to form multi-ply tissue products usingany ply attachment means known in the art, such as mechanical crimpingor adhesive.

When two or more inventive tissue webs are joined together the resultingmulti-ply tissue product may have a basis weight greater than about 40gsm, such as from about 40 to about 80 gsm, and more preferably fromabout 50 to about 60 gsm. At these basis weights the tissue productsgenerally have calipers greater than about 300 μm, such as from about300 to about 1,200 μm, and more preferably from about 400 to about 1,000μm. The tissue products further have sheet bulks greater than about 5.0cc/g, such as from about 5.0 to about 20 cc/g and more preferably fromabout 10 to about 20 cc/g.

The inventive tissue products may also have relatively low modulus so asnot to be overly stiff. For example, in certain embodiments the presentinvention provides lotion treated tissue products having a GMT greaterthan about 700 g/3″, such as from about 700 to about 1,200 g/3″, andgeometric means slopes (GM Slopes) less than about 12.0 and morepreferably less than about 10.0 kg, such as from about 4.0 to about 12.0kg, such as from about 4.0 to about 10.0 kg, such as from about 4.0 toabout 7.0 kg. At the foregoing strengths, inventive tissue products mayhave a Stiffness index less than about 10.0, such as from about 4.0 toabout 10.0, such as from about 4.0 to about 8.0.

Test Methods Penetration Hardness

The hardness and rigidity of a composition, such as a lotion useful inthe present invention, which is a firm solid can be determined bypenetrometry. If the composition is a softer solid, this will beobserved as a substantial lack of any resistance to the penetrometerprobe.

A suitable procedure for measuring penetration hardness utilizesPrecision Scientific Model No. 73510 penetrometer equipped with a C521needle (weight 2.5 grams) which has a cone angle at the point of theneedle specified to be 9° 10′±15′. A 50 g weight is added to the plungerrod (47.5 g) for a combined testing load of approximately 100 g. Testswere conduct at approximately 20° C.

A sample of the composition with a flat upper surface is placed on thebase of the penetrometer. The height of the mechanism head is adjustedso that the point of the penetrometer needle is brought exactly intocontact with the surface of the sample. With the instrument zeroed, thetest rod is released allowing the needle to descend into the sample. Therelease lever is depressed (held open) for a period of 5 seconds afterwhich it is then released (closed). The depth gauge rod is then presseddown gently as far as it will go and the penetration depth is read fromthe gauge. Desirably the test is carried out at five (5) points on eachsample and the results are averaged.

Utilizing a test of this nature, an appropriate hardness of a lotion foruse in the present invention has a penetration of less than 30 mm inthis test, for example in a range from about 5.0 to about 30 mm, moreparticularly from about 7.0 to about 25 mm, more particularly from about12 to about 22 mm, and still more particularly from about 16 to about 22mm.

Lotion Add-on

Lotion add-on was determined gravimetrically. A lotion treated web wascut off of the treated roll shortly after its manufacture and then diecut with a 10.1×10.1 cm die. Six stacks comprising 10 die cut sheetseach were collected and then weighed on a scale to the nearest 0.01 g.The basis weight (gsm) of the treated sample was calculated by dividingthe mass of the sample by its area (0.6194 m²). An untreated tissuesample (control), run under the same process conditions, was sampled andits basis weight measured similarly. The treatment add-on (gsm) is thedifference between the basis weights of the treated and untreatedsamples.

Tensile

Samples for tensile strength testing are prepared by cutting a 3 inches(76.2 mm)×5 inches (127 mm) long strip in either the machine direction(MD) or cross-machine direction (CD) orientation using a JDC PrecisionSample Cutter (Thwing-Albert Instrument Company, Philadelphia, Pa.,Model No. JDC 3-10, Ser. No. 37333). The instrument used for measuringtensile strengths is an MTS Systems Sintech 11S, Serial No. 6233. Thedata acquisition software is MTS TestWorks™ for Windows Ver. 4 (MTSSystems Corp., Research Triangle Park, N.C.). The load cell is selectedfrom either a 50 or 100 Newton maximum, depending on the strength of thesample being tested, such that the majority of peak load values fallbetween 10 and 90 percent of the load cell's full-scale value. The gaugelength between jaws is 4±0.04 inches. The jaws are operated usingpneumatic-action and are rubber coated. The minimum grip face width is 3inches (76.2 mm), and the approximate height of a jaw is 0.5 inches(12.7 mm). The crosshead speed is 10±0.4 inches/min (254±1 mm/min), andthe break sensitivity is set at 65 percent. The sample is placed in thejaws of the instrument, centered both vertically and horizontally. Thetest is then started and ends when the specimen breaks. The peak load isrecorded as either the “MD tensile strength” or the “CD tensilestrength” of the specimen depending on the sample being tested. At leastsix representative specimens are tested for each product, taken “as is,”and the arithmetic average of all individual specimen tests is eitherthe MD or CD tensile strength for the product.

Microscopy

The various surface planes and z-directional height differences may bemeasured using well-known microscopy techniques. For example, thecross-section image of a fibrous structure, web or tissue product, maybe taken using a VHX-1000 Digital Microscope (Keyence Corporation ofOsaka, Japan) equipped with VHX-H3M application software. Using theapplication software, a first line may be drawn approximately along thetop surface plane of structure with the line tangent to two adjacentelevated elements. A second line is drawn approximately along the bottomsurface plane of the structure with the line tangent to two adjacentland areas. With the two lines drawn, each corresponding to a surfaceplane of the structure, the application software can be instructed tocalculate the distances between the planes.

EXAMPLES

A single-ply tissue product was produced using a through-air driedpapermaking process commonly referred to as “uncreped through-air dried”(“UCTAD”) and generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,607,551, thecontents of which are incorporated herein in a manner consistent withthe present disclosure.

Tissue basesheets were produced from a furnish comprising northernsoftwood kraft and eucalyptus kraft using a layered headbox fed by threestock chests such that the webs having three layers (two outer layersand a middle layer) were formed. The two outer layers comprisedeucalyptus and the middle layer comprised softwood. The 3-layeredstructure had a furnish split of 33% EHWK/34% NBSK/33% EHWK, all on aweight percent basis.

The tissue web was formed on a Voith Fabrics TissueForm V formingfabric, vacuum dewatered to approximately 25 percent consistency andthen subjected to rush transfer when transferred to the transfer fabric.The transfer fabric was the fabric described as “Fred” in U.S. Pat. No.7,611,607 (commercially available from Voith Fabrics, Appleton, Wis.).

The web was then transferred to a through-air drying fabric. Thethrough-air drying fabric was a silicone printed fabric describedpreviously in co-pending PCT Appl. No. PCT/US2013/072220. Transfer tothe through-drying fabric was done using vacuum levels of greater than0.33 bars at the transfer. The web was then dried to approximately 98percent solids before winding.

A hydrophobic lotion composition (Lotion Reference Code 1) was preparedby adding mineral oil (1547.9 g) to a stainless-steel beaker equippedwith a hot plate and overhead stirrer. The mineral oil was heated withagitation to 65° C. Once heated, dimethicone (27.3 g) and isopropylpalmitate (77.6 g) were mixed with the mineral oil. Ceresin wax (470.9g) was then mixed with agitation and heating to 65° C. After the wax wascompletely melted stearyl alcohol (470.9 g) was added, followed by thealoe extract (2.7 g) and vitamin E acetate (2.7 g). The composition wasmixed for 5 minutes and then a UV optical brightening agent, Tinopal OB(2.6 g) and the visual colorant, Black Ink Exp R3989-123 (13.0 g) wasadded. The entire mixture was poured into a pan and allowed to coolovernight. The hardness of the resulting cake was measured as describedabove.

A hydrophilic lotion comprising propylene glycol and glycerin (LotionReference Code 2) was prepared by mixing propylene glycol (2576 g) andglycerin (1200 g) in a large beaker and the mixture was heated to 85° C.with good mixing but no air entrainment. Once at temperature anduniformly mixed, sodium stearate (200 g) was added and mixed untildissolved. A UV optical brightening agent, Tinopal OB (4 g), and avisual colorant, blue liquid dye (20 g), were added and mixed untiluniform. The mixture was stirred and allowed to cool to 50° C., thenpoured into a pan and allowed to cool overnight. Total batch weight was4000 g. The hardness of the resulting cake was measured as describedabove.

A hydrophobic lotion comprising polyethylene glycol (Lotion ReferenceCode 3) was prepared by mixing PEG 400 (3456 g) and PEG 8000 (520 g) ina large beaker and heating to 70° C. Once the PEGs were completelymixed, a UV optical brightening agent, Tinopal OB (4 g), and a visualcolorant, blue liquid dye (20 g) were added and mixed until uniform. Themixture was allowed to cool slightly and poured into a pan and allowedto cool overnight. Total batch weight was 4000 g. The hardness of theresulting cake was measured as described above.

TABLE 1 Lotion Reference Penetration Code Hardness (mm) LotionComposition (wt %) 1 16 Mineral Oil (59.2%) Ceresin Wax (18.0%) StearylAlcohol (18.0%) Isopropyl Palmitate (3.7%) Dimethicone (1.3%) AloeExtract (0.13%) Vitamin E Acetate (0.13%) 2 15 Propylene Glycol (37.4%)Glycerin (60%) Sodium Stearate (2%) 3 14.5 PEG 400 (86.4%) PEG 8000(13.0%)

The basesheet was calendered-coated using an apparatus substantiallysimilar to that illustrated in FIG. 6 . The solid lotion was applied toa steel calender roll opposed to a conventional 40 P&J roll. In certaininstances the steel calender roll was heated. The calender linear nipload ranged from about 40 to about 50 pli. The process conditions usedto produce each of the inventive samples are set forth in Table 2,below.

TABLE 2 Lotion Lotion Lotion Lotion Applicator Feed Web CalenderCalender Add- Inventive Reference Thickness Angle Rate Speed Nip LoadTemp. On Code Code (mm) (°) (mm/s) (mpm) (pli) (° C.) (gsm) 287 1 16 00.4 152 50 21 3.1 292 1 16 0 0.5 152 50 63 3.3 297 1 16 0 1.5 457 50 633.2 459 1 25 29.5 0.1 91 40 82 1.11 460 1 25 29.5 0.1 152 40 82 0.66 4611 25 29.5 0.1 304 40 82 0.39 728 2 25 29.5 0.9 457 40 21 3.96 748 3 2529.5 0.3 152 40 21 3.20

The lotion treated tissue web was converted to a finished rolled tissueproduct and subjected to physical testing. The results of the physicaltesting are summarized in Table 3, below.

TABLE 3 Basis Sheet GM Stiff- Inventive Wt. Caliper Bulk GMT Slope nessCode (gsm) (microns) (cc/g) (g/3″) (kg) Index 287 43.3 696 16.1 796 5.336.7 292 41.7 691 16.6 760 4.93 6.5 297 42.3 864 20.4 752 4.35 5.8 45940.6 749 18.5 793 4.82 6.1 460 40.0 752 18.8 780 4.70 6.0 461 39.6 76519.3 763 4.51 5.9 728 43.7 798 18.3 586 4.17 7.1 748 43.3 724 19.3 7785.15 6.6

A photograph of the finished tissue product is shown in FIG. 7 . Thetissue product 300 has a first side 302 comprising a plurality ofsubstantially similarly shaped continuous line elements 304 having uppersurfaces 306 lying in a first surface plane. Between the line elements304 are valleys 305 lying in a second surface plane below the firstsurface plane. A lotion 310 (dyed blue) is selectively disposed on theupper surface 306 of the continuous line elements 304.

While the invention has been described in detail in the foregoingdescription and example, those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe present invention may be embodied in any one of several differentembodiments including, for example:

In a first embodiment the present invention provides a treated fibrousstructure comprising a textured fibrous web having a first side with afirst surface lying in a first surface plane and a second surface lyingin a second surface plane, the second surface plane lying below thefirst surface plane, and a lotion selectively disposed on the firstsurface.

In a second embodiment the present invention provides the web of thefirst embodiment wherein the lotion is applied as a solid having apenetration hardness from about 5.0 to about 30 mm.

In a third embodiment the present invention provides the web of thefirst or the second embodiments wherein the lotion is applied as a solidhaving a penetration hardness from about 5.0 to about 30 mm andcomprises from about 30 to about 90 weight percent oil and from about 10to about 40 weight percent wax.

In a fourth embodiment the present invention provides the web of any oneof the first through the third embodiments wherein the lotion is appliedas a solid having a penetration hardness from about 10 to about 20 mmand comprises from about 30 to about 90 weight percent oil selected fromthe group consisting of mineral oil, animal oil, plant oil and siliconeoil, from about 10 to about 40 weight percent wax selected from thegroup consisting of natural wax, petroleum wax, silicone wax andsynthetic wax and from about 15 to about 25 weight percent fatty alcoholselected from the group consisting of cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol,behenyl alcohol and dodecyl alcohol.

In a fifth embodiment the present invention provides the web of any oneof the first through the fourth embodiments wherein the product has acaliper and the z-directional height difference between the first andthe second surface planes is at least about 10 percent of the caliper.

In a sixth embodiment the present invention provides the web of any oneof the first through the fifth embodiments wherein the product has acaliper and the z-directional height difference between the between thefirst and the second surface planes is at least 100 μm, such as fromabout 100 to 200 μm.

In a seventh embodiment the present invention provides the web of anyone of the first through the sixth embodiments wherein the first surfaceplane is formed by a design element, which in certain embodiments maycomprise a continuous line element or a discrete line element.

In an eighth embodiment the present invention provides the web of anyone of the first through the seventh embodiments wherein the product hasa basis weight greater than about 10, such as from about 10 to about 60and more preferably from about 30 to about 60 grams per square meter(gsm), and a geometric mean tensile (GMT) greater than about 500 g/3″,such as from about 500 to about 4,000 g/3″ and more preferably fromabout 750 to about 3,500 g/3″.

In a ninth embodiment the present invention provides the web of any oneof the first through the eight embodiments wherein the product comprisesa single-ply through-air dried tissue web.

In a tenth embodiment the present invention provides the web of any oneof the first through the ninth embodiments wherein the product has acaliper greater than about 300 μm and a sheet bulk greater than about 5cc/g. In particularly preferred embodiments the product has a calipergreater than about 400 μm and a sheet bulk greater than about 10 cc/g.

In an eleventh embodiment the present invention provides the web of anyone of the first through the tenth embodiments wherein the product has aGMT ranging from about 700 to about 1,200 g/3″.

In a twelfth embodiment the present invention provides the web of anyone of the first through the eleventh embodiments wherein the producthas a GM Slope ranging from 4.0 to about 7.0 kg.

In a thirteenth embodiment the present invention provides the web of anyone of the first through the twelfth embodiments wherein the product hasa Stiffness Index ranging from about 4.0 to about 8.0.

1. A textured fibrous web having a first side to be contacted by a user in-use, the first side having an uppermost surface lying in a first surface plane and a second surface lying in a second surface plane, the second surface plane lying below the first surface plane, and a lotion selectively disposed on the uppermost surface.
 2. The textured fibrous web of claim 1 wherein the lotion is selectively disposed on the uppermost surface in an amount ranging from about 0.20 to about 3.0 grams per square meter of textured fibrous web.
 3. The textured fibrous web of claim 1 wherein the textured fibrous web is a tissue web consisting essentially of wood pulp fibers and having a basis weight from about 10 to about 50 grams per square meter and a sheet bulk greater than about 5.0 cc/g.
 4. The textured fibrous web of claim 1 wherein the uppermost surface comprises from about 70 to about 95 percent of the total surface area of the first side.
 5. The textured fibrous web of claim 1 wherein the z-directional height difference between the first and second surface planes is from about 100 to about 500 μm.
 6. The textured fibrous web of claim 1 wherein the second surface is forms a design element.
 7. The textured fibrous web of claim 6 wherein the design element is a continuous line element or a discrete line element.
 8. A lotion treated tissue product having a machine direction and a cross-machine direction, a first side and an opposed second side, the tissue product comprising a first discrete cross-machine direction zone having a first lotion composition disposed thereon and a second discrete cross-machine direction zone having a second lotion composition disposed thereon, wherein the first and the second lotion compositions differ in at least one respect.
 9. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the first and the second cross-machine direction zones are immediately adjacent to one another.
 10. The tissue product of claim 8 further comprising a third cross-machine direction zone disposed between the first and second zones.
 11. The tissue product of claim 10 wherein the third cross-machine direction zone is substantially free from lotion.
 12. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the first lotion comprises a wax and an oil and is substantially free from water and the second lotion comprises water.
 13. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the first lotion comprises at least one high molecular weight polyethylene glycol and the second lotion comprises propylene glycol, glycerin and optionally water.
 14. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the first lotion comprises at least one oil selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, animal oil, plant oil and silicone oil or at least one wax selected from the group consisting of natural wax, petroleum wax, silicone wax and synthetic wax and the second lotion comprises a high molecular weight polyethylene glycol or propylene glycol.
 15. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the total add-on of the first and second lotions ranges from about 0.20 to about 3.0 grams per square meter of textured fibrous web.
 16. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the first cross-machine direction zone covers from about 50 to about 75 percent of the surface area and the second cross-machine direction zone covers from about 25 to about 50 percent of the surface area of the first side of the tissue product.
 17. The tissue product of claim 8 wherein the product has a basis weight from about 10 to about 50 grams per square meter (gsm) and a geometric mean tensile (GMT) from about 500 to about 1,500 g/3″.
 18. A method of manufacturing a lotion treated web comprising the steps of: a. providing a lotion composition having a penetration hardness ranging from about 5 to about 30 mm; b. providing nip between a transfer surface and a second surface; c. applying the lotion to the transfer surface; d. conveying a web through the nip whereby one outwardly facing surface of the web is contacted by the transfer surface resulting in a transfer of the lotion to the surface of the web.
 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the transfer surface is heated and has a surface temperature ranging from about 70 to about 100° C.
 20. The method of claim 18 wherein the transfer surface comprises a steel calender roll and the second surface comprises a polymer coated calender roll.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein the steel calender roll is heated and has a surface temperature ranging from about 70 to about 90° C.
 22. The method of claim 18 wherein the lotion comprises from about 30 to about 90 weight percent oil and from about 10 to about 40 weight percent wax.
 23. The method of claim 18 wherein the lotion has a penetration hardness from about 10 to about 20 mm and comprises at least one oil selected from the group consisting of mineral oil, animal oil, plant oil and silicone oil, at least one wax selected from the group consisting of natural wax, petroleum wax, silicone wax and synthetic wax and at least one fatty alcohol selected from the group consisting of cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, behenyl alcohol and dodecyl alcohol.
 24. The method of claim 23 wherein the lotion comprises from about 30 to about 90 weight percent oil, from about 10 to about 40 weight percent wax and from about 15 to about 25 weight percent fatty alcohol.
 25. The method of claim 18 wherein the lotion comprises a high molecular weight polyethylene glycol or propylene glycol.
 26. The method of claim 18 wherein the web has a first side with an uppermost surface lying in a first surface plane and a second surface lying in a second surface plane, the second surface plane lying below the first surface plane and wherein the lotion is selectively disposed on the uppermost surface.
 27. The method of claim 18 wherein the web has a caliper and the caliper is reduced after being conveyed through the nip.
 28. The method of claim 18 wherein the amount of lotion transferred to the surface of the web ranges from about 0.20 to about 3.0 grams per square meter of web.
 29. The method of claim 18 wherein lotion is transferred to about 70 to about 95 percent of the total surface area of the web.
 30. The method of claim 18 wherein the step of applying the lotion to the transfer surface comprises urging the solid lotion against the transfer surface at a feed rate ranging from about 0.05 to about 0.2 mm per second.
 31. The method of claim 18 wherein the web is conveyed through the nip at a speed ranging from about 15 to about 300 meters per minute (mpm).
 32. The method of claim 18 further comprising the steps of providing a second lotion having a penetration hardness ranging from about 5 to about 30 mm and applying the second solid lotion to the transfer surface, wherein the first and the second solid lotions are different. 